While the president has been arguing for the fierce urgency of now when it comes to passing his latest, $450 billion attempt to stimulate job growth, the number two Democrat in the Senate, Dick Durbin (Ill.), is pitching the fierce urgency of . . . next month.
On CNN’s State of the Union, host Candy Crowley asked Durbin whether Senate Democrats would move on the bill immediately. “The bill is on the calendar,” Durbin said, “it’s poised and ready.” But when Crowley asked whether that meant movement next week or after a week-long recess planned to start Sept. 26, Durbin admitted it’s “more realistic that it would be next month.”
Meanwhile on ABC’s This Week, Google CEO Eric Schmidt pointed out the paralytic effect of policy uncertainty on business. “The real problem is Democrats and the Republicans fight for one point or another in the political sphere, while the rest of us wait for the government to do something concrete and predictable,” Schmidt said. “Business needs predictable, long-term plans. . . . Where is government spending going to be, what are the government programs going to be?”